Sunday, 10 January 2016

At Their Most Beautiful

*This post is for those who love and appreciate Wes Anderson's films. My apologies for those who are not so familiar with his work. But if you have seen at least two of the films, I think you will enjoy this post. Also please be aware that there are SPOILERS for those who have not seen the films.*


 There are plenty of articles out there professing their love for Wes Anderson's films. There are beautiful books devoted to his films. There are numerous amounts of crafters interpretting the characters and props from the films, turning them into amazing things. I even own a beautifully crafted brooch of Steve Zissou which was a present. I have posters and artwork alike too. There is no doubt that Wes Anderson's films have a certain pleasing look and appeal. Beyond the production design, costumes, hair and make up, there are the stories that are equally beautiful. I've picked 8 scenes from his films to illustrate how beautiful his films can be on a large scale and in one small moment. The only film I could select from was Bottle Rocket. I couldn't find a satisfying moment from it and I'm still on the fence about the film anyway.

Most of the moments I picked will stir up an emotion, they did for me. Music plays a large part in most of them.Story, character and music truely sets the scene. I have added links to the scenes too.

Here are 8 times Wes Anderson's film were just beautifully perfect or perfectly beautiful, depends which way you see it.

Rushmore


As with all the films, there are plenty of scenes to pick from, these four scenes put together are the 'payback' segment of the relationship between Max Fischer and Mr Blume. Max feels he has been betrayed by Blume after the latter persues a romantic relationship with Rosemary Cross, a teacher at Max's school. The exchanges of 'revenge' are harsh. Where Blume acts petty, Max's aim is to cause harm. The beauty in these moments are helped by the soundtrack and the slow motion. These two are friends and they know each other too well.

The Royal Tenenbaums


Wes Anderson likes to use slow motion as it does have the desired affect. As we have met all the Tenenbaums by now, we haven't seen them together. We already know Richie is in love with Margot and its from this short musical interlude that we gather she feels the same way. It's the way she looks at him. Once again, brilliant soundtrack.

The Life Aquatic

Steve Zissou is a complicated and at time obsurd character. He is unclear about what he wants and we meet him at first while he is grieving, but he is not be allowed to grieve. At this point, he has lost his best friend, had his film shot down, half his crew have deserted him, his son has died and he wants revenge. But in this moment he lets it all go, as if seeing the Jaguar Shark has brought him closure.

The Darjeeling Limited

Throughout the film, the relationship between the brothers is strained and trapped in close quarters together brings out truths and realisations none of them want to hear. The brothers know each other too well, more than they care to admit. They don't start growing as a family or as individuals until they reach the village after the tragedy. The flashback explains how each of them cope and is starting point to their demises until the start of the film. They have shown affection to each other but in this scene as Francis, the eldest and most 'together' of them all, takes off his bandages. He reveals scars from an accident he skimmed over earlier trying to down play what happened. The brothers stop and look, Francis says 'I guess I still have some more healing to do', perfectly illustrating each of the brothers.


My second moment of beauty is the last scene as the brothers, mirroring the opening scene, dash for a train. They have been carting their father's bags around and literally and metaphorically throw away the baggage weighing them down.

Fantastic Mr Fox

Anderson's first animation, a stop motion adaptation of Roald Dahl's Fantastic Mr Fox. The story, the original story is there, with added Anderson layers which are beautiful created. I cannot imagine this film any other way. Throughout the film, Mr Fox, knows he's fantastic and likes to point this out to everyone. He has flaws and makes plenty of mistakes. He admits these and apologises, but its in this odd, brief and excellently executed moment that we see him as showing fear and accepting it. The exchange between fox and wolf doesn't need words, its beautiful.

Moonrise Kingdom

Moonrise Kingdom, the most instagram-able film of them all. Everything in this film is beautiful, especially the central characters, Sam and Suzy, both troubled, misunderstood kids who find each other, run away, survive and against the odds are happy together. I chose the exchange of letters scene because he goes a little deeper into their connection, something all the adults missed. Their shared secrets and bonded over letters, something that is missed if the story were set now rather than in the 60s. A beautiful story and I love the use of letters.

The Grand Budapest Hotel
This was the most difficult film to pick just one moment. The story of Gustave H, which is told by Zero who is telling his own story which is then told by The Writer, sounds convoluted, but it all ties together in the end. A brilliant caper, murder mystery, prison break, journey, love story is dark, very funny and ultimately quite a sad tale. It is most definitely a peak in Anderson's career. The beautiful moment in the film, for me, is the end train scene, where Zero, Agatha and Gustave H are enjoying a drink but with the outbreak of war just around the corner, a voice brings the world crashing down. The quote below, about Gustave H is so well put, this is in place of a visual moment.

"To be frank, I think his world had vanished long before he ever entered it, but I will say: He certainly sustained the illusion with a marvelous grace!"
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